As the world's biggest software company, Microsoft makes a lot of news--but even by Redmond's standards, Windows Blue involves big stakes: the future of computing as a whole.

Consider just this change from the last week: one day, Windows 8's more optimistic critics were hoping that Windows Blue might throw a bone to legacy users, perhaps by allowing them to boot straight to the desktop; the next day, those users were digesting not only the reality that Live Tiles are Microsoft's UI of the future but also the disquieting possibility that the desktop interface might be killed off altogether.

Despite the leak, it's too early to indulge "death of the traditional PC" histrionics just yet. Even so, Windows Blue is shaping up to be the next big step in what Microsoft has termed its "new normal": a continuous development cycle in which new features are delivered not through the monolithic updates of the past but via ongoing refinements. Will this philosophy affect the way you use your PC? Here are five facts to consider.

1. Get used to the Modern UI, like it or not.

Though the company hasn't said so this bluntly, Microsoft is determined to force all Windows 8 users -- even those who don't care about touch screens -- to get used to the Modern UI. The fact that Windows Blue does not yet allow users to boot directly to the desktop all but confirms this fact; Microsoft's decision to funnel desktop users though the Live Tiles Start screen might have been unpopular, but it also appears to be an unwavering part of the plan.

Indeed, Windows Blue's visible enhancements are limited almost entirely to the Modern interface. Most of the changes, such as the ability to more granularly personalize the homepage, are evolutionary, but some, such as a function that syncs browser tabs across devices, suggest the broad strokes of a fluid ecosystem. Cohesive multi-device experiences were a big theme at the Windows Phone 8 launch, and with Windows Blue, which is expected to unify all Windows platforms, Microsoft appears to be further developing this goal.

Even so, none of the tweaks is so jaw-droppingly awesome that iPad users will be tossing their hardware in the streets. If you like Windows 8, Windows Blue should offer a meaningfully more polished and usable evolution of the same concept. If you don't like Windows 8, Microsoft seems to believe that it's only a matter of time (and updates).

That said, the desktop UI isn't entirely ignored by Blue. Much to the chagrin of some users, though, the leaked build doesn't enhance the traditional interface so much as relieve it of longtime possibilities. Current Windows 8 users have to use the desktop to access the Control Panel, for example, but in Windows Blue, these tools have been implemented on the Modern side. The widely held interpretation is that Microsoft wants the Modern UI to be a standalone environment -- that is, a fully functional OS in its own right, without the desktop's support.

2. The desktop isn't necessarily dead.

Because Microsoft is doing its best to make the desktop UI optional, many have speculated that the familiar Explorer interface will soon be phased out. Given Blue's development trajectory, this possibility, once seen as unlikely, has never been harder to ignore.

Still, even if Redmond eventually makes Live Tiles mandatory, the company is years of transitional work away from nixing the desktop. With so many customers so invested in the old x86 world, millions of pieces of software will need to be ported for Modern use. That kind of effort will take time, so don't write up the desktop's obituary just yet.

What's more, it remains to be seen if all desktop processes can even be translated to a touch-centric world. Sure, some legacy apps might be simple ports that run in the Metro environment but look and behave like their Explorer antecedents. This possibility could certainly speed things up. But even if Microsoft is moving away from the desktop, the ultimate transition isn't coming with Windows Blue, and it probably won't be a part of whatever color-coded update comes after that.

Though it's unlikely, Microsoft could even surprise everyone by implementing desktop improvements before Blue finally launches. Redmond has suggested it will elaborate on its Windows strategy at its upcoming BUILD 2013 conference, which will be June 26-28 in San Francisco.

3. Microsoft Office will also receive a Blue-like upgrade.

ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley recently reported that Microsoft Office will be undergoing a Blue-like transformation of its own, codenamed Gemini. According to her tipsters, Gemini describes a series of updates to be delivered over the next two years. The first wave is expected to coincide with Windows Blue and could bring Modern-optimized versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint. OneNote and Lync are the only members of the Office stable that have already been given the Live Tile treatment.

Then again, Kurt DelBene, president of Microsoft's Office division, suggested that Modern Office apps will complement, rather than supplant, the existing versions--a strong indication that the desktop UI's imminent demise has been exaggerated. Indeed, DelBene said a Modern-optimized Word or Excel must give the user value not already available in the desktop version, implying that Microsoft is less interested in replicating the current Office experience in the Live Tiles UI than in exploring new ways to implement touch and voice into the document-creation process.

I tried Win8 and couldn't stand the modern UI and ended up setting it up as much like a traditional desktop UI as I could. You shouldn't have to use a third party program to make it comfortable to use.

i was searching for windows 7software so i can finally update my windows xp desktop, and all i see our windows 8 which seems to get bad reviews. now i see they are going to yet another new system with blue. microsoft is going to force me into learning mac or linux. i like new tech. i have a windows 7 laptop and an android jellybean tablet, both of which i love. but the bulk of all my files are on my desktop. I DON'T WANT TO LEARN A NEW UI!! I HATE MY TABLET'S TOUCHSCREEN! if it ain't broke don't fix it. i just got my momma using windows7, she can barely use her iphone and kindle fire. if desktops go to touchscreen, she'll be lost. and forget my 85 yo grandma using it. do they have linux for dummies? now i have to get the 15yo nephew to teach me how to use his mac. ><

If its just an Update *A big update* I hope we don't have to pay anything? I want Windows in a way to become more Customizable, but not too much so you can change everything, but just so we can do a bit more, like have more Start Screen Designs, colours and other things. I can Imagine them removing the Desktop, but they would have to produce something more amazing than it. Like... a cork board or something? They also better be careful because if they lose Windows' business, then Microsoft will too. I don't like using apps/tiles that much, because I think they can be improved a bit more and have many more features like, they always are... so.. boring and dull? They should focus on Voice Recognition more, because if they want to keep up, then... Like for example you could say "Windows Listen" and then you could say "Any recipes with chocolate in them for my Bake sale?" or "What homework do I have to complete", it would also Introduce the Microsoft Future Vision thing.

They are scared because MS boffins are trying to trade a full featured overlapping multi windows environment with a joke of GUI like Metro that in next Blue update will be barely capable of displaying non overlapped windows like Windows 2.0.Going down from Windows 7 usability to Metro usability that is like Windows 1.0 (and in Blue hopefully will evolve up to Windows 2.0) is what is keeping Windows 8 Squarepants monthly user adoption HALF OF VISTA!

In what Microsoft release have you seen the words "Get used to the Modern UI, like it or not"? I've seen them in blog posts by people who appear fanatical in their hatred for Win 8 or for MS, but I've never heard MS use them. Maybe I missed something.

I wouldn't expect the desktop to disappear any time soon. It's still there in Win 8 and it's nearly identical to the Win 7 desktop. On the other hand, touch and gestures are here to stay and it wouldn't be surprising to see this expanded over time. I would expect other OS's to go this same direction at some point. What grinds my gears is that if Apple had put a fully-functional OSx on a tablet that also ran an iPad-like iOS interface, they would have been hailed as innovative geniuses, with all the Applephiles singing halleluias and weepy-eyed with joy.

It's an unfortunate fact of life - some companies people love to love and some companies people love to hate.

Not sure introducing a new idea and risking the biggest piece of your financial pie to do it would be considered arrogant. Risky, yes; foolish, maybe; arrogant, not so much. It wouldn't be the first time a company took a big-time risk to put forward a new idea.

Also, I find it interesting that some folks, including you apparently, refer to the "modern" UI as "fisher price", implying that it is for children, yet complain of how "hard" it is to use. Seems to me that those two notions are contradictory.

You don't need any 3rd party products to use Win 8, it works fine out of the box. The desktop is still there, you still click in the lower left corner of the desktop to get the start menu. In addition, there is a new power-user menu there. And you can add a toolbar in a few seconds that gives you the same list of installed programs in the same folder/file format that you got under the old start orb - except that it was two clicks then and is one click now. Outside of the start orb, the Win 8 desktop is essentially indistinguishable from the Win 7 desktop.

Really, the panic over Win 8 is hard to understand. It is actually a very good OS and will only get better.

I wouldn't expect the desktop to go away for some time to come yet, and not until the capabilities you outline are available in the new interface. Touch and gestures are the wave of the future. While the gesture a lot of folks associate with win 8 right now is a single finger pointed heavenward, keep in mind the there will always be resistance to change.

BTW, I happen to really like Win 8. It will be interesting to see how it evolves.

Can anyone please enlighten me? I must be missing something about Modern UI vs Desktop. The Modern UI does not appear to allow display of multiple apps in resizable windows on screen - a fundamental feature of Windows for the working professional. Without the ability to view multiple apps on screen, cut/paste between and resize windows etc., the Modern UI, stripped of the desktop, would be more properly named Window (singular). It would be a big, big step backwards. Who are the worldwide base of Office users (MS's biggest PC money-spinner)? why, office staff of course, at all levels. And most of them need multiple windowing on a desktop. I actually like the Modern thing more than iOS as a touch interface and think MS has got it right combining the two. Modern as a glorified and touch-enabled Start Menu is a great idea. But the desktop must be an integral part of Windows 8 and any future releases.